Chapter Seventeen: For a Day, For a Lifetime
Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime.
-Chinese Proverb.
xxXxx
Ways to escape Mist Island;
Kill the mermaids before attempting to leave.
Design a ship that can't be sunk.
Don't use a ship, design one of those flying sails so the mermaids can't stop us.
Dig a tunnel under the ocean to the mainland-
"Okay, even I'm willing to admit that this list is getting ridiculous!" Bearskin exclaimed in frustration, crossing the fourth option off the list she had been writing in the sand. "I mean, a tunnel?"
Baron gave a mew that sounded like an agreeing disbelief, just before rubbing his face against hers.
She scratched his ears again, feeling a bit of depression take over her mind. "Not that the other options are any better. I hate killing, and even if I tried that, some would more than likely escape and it would turn into an all-out war. Plus none of my books have instructions for building one of those flying contraptions."
It had been three days since she stopped telling stories. The mermaids would occasionally come with the usual fish, but they refused to let her have it unless she promised to stay there forever and tell stories like she had before. There wasn't much game on the island and the trapper knew almost nothing about farming. With the mermaids ruining her net when she tried to fish for herself, Bearskin knew she was running low on time.
She set the branch she had been writing with down and reached into her satchel for one of the emergency rations she kept in there. Using one of her food knives, she began cutting bits and pieces off a red apple, feeding the larger ones to Baron. "I'm not sure what else to do, my friend. This satchel of mine can't feed us forever."
He nodded and pushed his paw against her hand to encourage her to eat one of the larger pieces.
They sat in companionable silence, barely able to watch the sunset through the always-present mist.
Suddenly, just as it was growing dark, Baron's body jerked harshly, as if someone had stuck a needle in him.
"What's wrong?" she asked, but all she got was an excited meow and a lick on the cheek before he hopped off her comfortable shoulders.
The tawny cat picked up the branch with his teeth and padded to her other side, where the list had been. He began scratching something into the sand, but his keeper couldn't see what it was.
Pretty sure that it was important, she grabbed bits of the ship that she hadn't used for the canoe to make a fire. Within minutes she had a nice little fire going, bright enough to see what Baron was up to.
She was stunned at what she saw.
Bargain was written in a very poor penmanship underneath the other options.
"With what?" she couldn't help but ask him.
He set the branch down and pointed a paw at her. She tilted her head at him, not quite understanding what she meant. He sighed and stepped closer before pointing again. At her satchel.
"… I hope you're trying to say there's something in here that can change their minds, because I'm not giving up the satchel."
Baron nodded, smiling his strange smile at her as he padded around the fire to sit next to where she had been sitting earlier.
She took the hint and sat down again before opening her satchel. "Don't let me down," she prayed as she started unearthing the contents.
An unbelievable number of bandages came out, followed shortly by what remained of her supply of healing ointment, herbs, spare weaponry, clothes, leather for making moccasins, finished moccasins she hadn't given away yet, several pairs of gloves, an unholy amount of gold…
"The gold might be our best bet?" she tried to say, but Baron shook his head and gestured for her to keep digging.
Her dwindling supply of travel rations, needles and thread, rope, nails, books-
"Meow!" Baron said triumphantly once her collection of books was sitting on the sand, right between him and her supply of leather.
"My books? Baron, I don't think mermaids give a care about literature and I never got a chance to read the one you picked out in Guilash," she reminded him while pointing at the thick poetry book near the top of the pile.
He placed his paw on it, looked straight at her and patted his mouth with the other paw before pointing at her.
"Baron, that's what got me into this mess, remember? What does it matter if I tell them about a job or read a poem, whatever a poem is?"
He stared at her in horror. Then he frantically began pulling and pushing on the book to ease it away from its' companions.
Since she didn't want the books damaged, she reached over to ease it out of the pile. Once it was in her hand, Baron hopped onto her lap, forced her to set the book next to him on one leg and began pawing through the pages.
Then he stopped and patted the paper before doing the same to her lips.
"Are you serious? Right here in the middle of a crisis?"
He nodded firmly.
Bearskin sighed and eased the book to a more comfortable position for reading. "I hope you're right." She coughed once before beginning.
"Just a Weaver, by Benjamine Malachi Franklin.
"My life is but a weaving between my God and me.
"I do not choose the colors; he worketh steadily."
The next part made her blink in surprise.
"Ofttimes He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride
"Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.
"Not till the loom is silent, and the shuttle cease to fly
"Will God unroll the canvas, and explain the reasons why."
A lump had formed in her throat, turning her voice hoarse as she finished the poem.
"The dark threads are as needful
"In the skillful Weaver's hand
"As the threads of gold and silver
"In the pattern he has planned."
The neat print seemed to move and sway in her vision, but grew still once the tears escaped her eyes. Unable to hold her emotions back, she set the book aside and drew Baron close as she began to cry.
Her tawny cat offered the comfort he could, obviously surprised at her reaction as he desperately tried to lick her tears away.
Bearskin had always considered her curse to be a terrible mistake, a fluke that was never intended to happen. But what if it was intended? All those times she saved someone's life or protected others she had long thought of as small consolation prizes for getting cursed, but what if she had been cursed so she could do it? There was no way she could have done a fraction of that with only her grandfather's berserker blood. Not even a fraction, since she would have had no reason to leave home. She would have had a happier life if she was still Haru, no doubt of it, but what about the people she had helped? Even if help eventually came to them from another source, it would have been too little, too late. What was clearly a dark color in her life was a golden one for them, and didn't she usually say after a briefing 'If I had known help was needed, I'd have come sooner'?
Her mother died, and had been willing to risk a fairy's wrath, to protect her. Wasn't it fitting that she ended up dedicating her life to protecting others?
"Baron," she managed to say after a few minutes. "Whatever pattern we're making, it isn't going to end here."
He meowed a firm agreement.
"I think I know what you were trying to tell me," she continued, rubbing her eyes against one sleeve before she started shoving everything back into the satchel. "I'm not entirely sure it will work, but it's definitely better than anything I came up with."
"Bearskin?" a familiar voice asked from the shoreline.
She looked up to see Eela, once more holding a large fish in her arms. But unlike the past few times she had seen the mermaid, she smiled warmly. "Hi, Eela. Could you do me a favor?"
"Will you stay if I do?" she asked in a hopeful tone, holding up the fish as an offering.
"No, but I think I have an idea that will satisfy everyone, including me and Baron. Can you round up your sisters?"
The young mermaid gave her a funny look, but nodded before diving under the waves once more.
Baron rubbed against her pant leg, purring as he tried to help her load things back into the satchel. She scratched his ears, knowing he'd help more if he only could. But she had to admit, she was impressed that he had been able to tell her such a brilliant plan.
It had to work. Nothing else would
By the time only the books were left, the mermaids were crawling to her fire, but stayed at a distance since they hated getting their scales dried out.
"Well, Bearskin? Eela tells us you have a plan," Tila said formally while rolling into a sitting position.
Instead of answering, Bearskin sat down, let Baron hop into her lap, and opened the poetry book to a random page.
"I arise from dreams of thee
"In the first sweet sleep of night,
"When the winds are breathing low
"And the stars are shining bright."
She kept reading, the rhythm of the words setting her mind into an untroubled bliss. A pale thought suggested looking up to see the mermaids' reaction, but she brushed it off, not wanting to break the spell that the poem invoked.
"My cheek is cold and white, alas,
"My heart beats loud and fast.
"Oh press it close to thine again,
"Where it will break at last. I Arise from Dreams of Thee, by Percy Bysshe Shelley." Only then did she dare look up.
The mermaids were staring at her in numb shock, although their eyes were partially closed as if in a dreamlike state. Not a one of them was so much as moving a tail fin.
'Huh. Poetry out-sirens the sirens.' "Well?" she prodded gently.
"That was beautiful," Quima whispered, still under the poem's influence. "Read another one."
Bearskin grinned and pointedly closed the book. "No."
Tila sat up from the rock she had been leaning against with an irritated glare. "Bearskin, enough is enough!"
"I agree completely and if any of you want to find out what the rest of the book contains, you better listen up."
This was good. She had their attention now.
"Can any of you read?"
"Of course not. What use would we have for that?" Ilia scoffed.
Bearskin sat the book of poetry on top of the other books and patted the modest pile affectionately. "Although that's the only one that has words like that, the other books have history, stories, knowledge, and there's a few that have illustrations of things that mermaids would normally never get to see. I am willing to trade all of these books for safe passage off the island for myself and my cat."
Tila was looking at the poetry book in longing. "Such a collection is worthless without someone to read them."
"Precisely. That's why I'm willing to teach at least some of you how to read. That way, you'll have years of entertainment and be able to read the same stories over and over again, if you wish. Come on, isn't this a better deal than a battle of wills with a stubborn trapper?"
Tila was still staring at the poetry book. "… Come, sisters. We will need to speak of this… arrangement. We will return in the morning with our answer."
"Thank you for your time," Bearskin informed them, scratching Baron's ear as they slipped into the waters and disappeared again.
Where did mermaids sleep, anyway? She'd have to remember to ask them later. "Looks like there's nothing we can do until morning. Are you still hungry?"
Baron shook his head, but she was certain he was lying. He'd only had half a loaf of bread and half an apple today. She was still hungry too, but there was no telling how much longer they'd need her storage to last.
"If we're lucky, we'll have fish in the morning," she promised him, curling up close to the fire and wrapping him in her arms again. "Sweet dreams, my friend."
He licked her cheek affectionately and purred until both of them were fast asleep.
ooOoo
"Th-Thus shall the meek in… inherit the earth," Haru stammered, squinting her eyes a bit, since the fire was starting to burn low.
"That's right, my little kitten," Naoko crooned, shutting the book that had lain across her lap. "But that's enough reading for one day, it's time for your nap."
Haru wrinkled her nose in dislike, but obediently crawled underneath the fur quilt with her mother. "Mama? What's a meek? Is it like mink?"
Naoko stared at her, but then laughed. "Oh no, sweetheart. Meek isn't an animal, it's… an attitude. Meek means humble."
"Oh. What's humble?"
"So many questions," Naoko sighed, gripping her daughter tight. "Humble means the opposite of pride. It means… oh dear, how can I say this?"
"Try," Haru implored, feeling really curious.
"… It's like us, honey. Most people live in houses instead of caves and there are some that live in huge houses. The people who live in huge houses think that they're better than the ones with little houses, and the ones who live in little houses think they're better than us, or even people who don't have a home."
Haru gaped in horror. "There are people without a home?"
"I'm afraid so, kitten. Humble means that we have little and we don't ask for more. We don't really need it. We have each other, we have your father, and we are warm, fed, and safe. We don't need anything else."
Haru beamed happily at her before snuggling. "Nothing else," she repeated, although she wasn't sure what else people could want than loving parents and a cave to play in.
Naoko was half-asleep when Haru thought of another question.
"What's a house?"
ooOoo
A gentle hand was shaking her shoulder. "Bearskin? Are you having a bad dream?"
The trapper opened her eyes to see Eela and managed another smile. "No, this one was a good dream for once."
"Then why were you crying?" she asked as Bearskin sat up, making Baron wake up as well.
"It was a beautiful dream. Well, it was a memory, but it was still beautiful. Did you come to a decision?" she asked as Eela rejoined the mermaids.
Tila was sitting in front of her sisters. "We will agree to your conditions, if you agree to two of our own."
Bearskin rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, keeping Baron in one arm. "I'm listening."
"Despite what you think, we've encountered books before. We've seen more than we can count from all the ships we've wrecked, but the marks and pictures always get ruined."
She understood immediately. "There's some stone in the next beach over that I can make a box out of, so that they can be protected from the water."
Tila smiled, but her eyes were still guarded. "You have mentioned time and again that you hope to end your curse. You will likely have more adventures before finding a cure."
"It's a strong possibility."
"This is our final condition; when you find your cure, write a book on your life and make sure we can get a copy."
She blinked in surprise. "A book? I've never even written a letter before!"
"That is our condition," she stated in a tone that had no room for compromise.
Bearskin exchanged glances with Baron. "That'd be a pretty long book."
He meowed confidently, patting one shoulder for encouragement.
"… I have one more condition, then," the trapper insisted after some thought. "When the ship comes with the book, I'll make sure that they have a flag with a bear's paw on it. Don't attack the ship or force the sailors to stay when they drop it off."
"What?" Yolu gasped in horror.
"I will not send a shipload of men to their deaths over a book. They get amnesty, or the deal's off."
Tila glowered angrily. "What does a bear paw look like?"
"I can carve it into a rock so that you know for sure. Do we have a bargain?" the trapper pressed.
The mermaid leader looked at her depressed sisters, but nodded glumly. "In exchange for the books and lessons, you, your cat, and the ones that deliver your book will be given safe passage from the island."
The cursed woman was smiling with relief as Baron purred his approval. "I should have thought about writing a book anyway, to keep records straight. People on the mainland think I slay a dragon every other week."
"How many have you actually killed?" Eela asked with interest.
"So far, zero. Now stop trying to weasel an extra story out of me. We've both got work to do."
ooOoo
It took another three months for ten of the mermaids to read well enough not to need her help. Only the first month had been needed to construct a sturdy box from the stone slabs that decorated the south side of the island.
But it still felt like it was too soon when it was finally time to slide the little boat into the water.
"A bit small, isn't it?" Quima asked with a giggle.
"Hey, I'm a trapper, not a carpenter," Bearskin countered with a grin. She gently set Baron into the little boat before climbing in herself. "I better get to paddling before I get seasick again."
"Hold on, that was you that was constantly…?"
"Yes. I function best with solid ground under my feet."
"In that case, make a rope out of some of those bandages you carry," Myla urged her, diving under the boat to reappear on the side farthest from the island. "We don't mind pulling you part of the way."
"You'd really do that?" she asked in surprise while sifting through her bag.
"In a heartbeat," Eela answered, not waiting for the rope. She placed her hands on the back part of the boat and used her strong tail to push them away from the island.
With some mermaids pulling on the braided bandage rope, and some pushing from behind, it only took two hours for the rickety boat to venture out of mist territory.
"If you paddle hard in that direction, you'll reach land," Eela informed her with a small smile as she pointed southeast. "Depending on how hard you can row, you should get there in a few days."
"Better days than weeks," Bearskin moaned, feeling nauseous again. "I appreciate the help, but I have to recommend leaving before I… ech!"
The mermaids immediately got the hint and because swimming back to the island as the pale trapper emptied out the little breakfast she had eaten.
"Meow meow," Baron told her encouragingly, patting one arm as she finished up.
"Ugh! I am never doing this again!" she vowed, rinsing her mouth out before grabbing the oars that had been salvaged from the ship. She began rowing as hard as she could, although she had to keep stopping to bail out the water that kept sneaking into the boat.
Baron's hairs rose in disgust and he kept trying to splash the water back out of the boat, but it did little.
"I know you're trying, my friend," she comforted him through a weak smile. "You can't wait to put this behind us, either."
He meowed the affirmative and kept trying to swat the water out of his presence.
She bit back a smile and kept rowing as fast as possible. The sooner they got out of the boat, the better.
ooOoo
It was still another three days before they were able to reach land. The first thing Bearskin did after jumping boat and carrying Baron to shore was lying flat on the sand. "Oh, sweet, sweet ground; let us never be parted again!"
Baron meowed enthusiastically, running circles in the sand around her.
She gave him a large grin and looked past the beach. Beyond it was another forest. "Shall we go find out where we are?"
He nodded the affirmative, staying by her side as they entered the thick trees. It appeared no different than the other forests she had been in, but at least it wasn't the familiar forest of Thegui. Queen Blanche had certainly put a price on her head by now and she wasn't interested in dodging the law.
But they saw no signs of civilization for hours, even until the sun began to set. Baron made his signature flinch when she used her slingshot to kill a rabbit for dinner, but at least he didn't start gagging when she prepared the meat for another stew.
"I really am sorry about my cooking, Baron," she apologized in her man voice, since she wasn't sure if they were close to a village when they made camp for the night. "I really have tried to cook things other than stew and healing ointments, but it always ends badly."
He mewed comfortingly and rubbed his head against one pant leg to assure her he didn't mind.
"But I'm missing bread something awful. Let's hope we can find a village soon."
Baron nodded, but went back to his self-imposed chore of gathering sticks for firewood.
She kept an eye on him, unable to stop a small smile from crossing her lips. 'Baron's such a great traveling companion. I really am lucky he chose to stay with me.'
Suddenly, she heard something moving around in the forest. Whatever it was happened to be clumsy, but was without a doubt moving toward them. Baron looked up as his ears pointed upward to better catch the sound.
"Watch the fire. I'm going to see what it is," she told him in her man voice before slipping into the trees.
"Hello? Is someone there?" a man called out, making her glad that she had returned to acting.
"I am. May I ask where we are?" she asked politely, using her keen vision to probe the darkness.
"In the Lutian Forest, I assume," he replied as she drew closer to the sound of his voice. "Unless I've wandered into Nexan territory, that is."
After turning around another tree, Bearskin could see why the young man couldn't be certain.
He was very thin and ragged, and a long strip of cloth was wrapped repeatedly over his eyes. In one hand was a long stick, but the other one was bracing himself against a large oak tree. A rather bushy beard covered half of his gaunt face.
But perhaps the strangest thing about him were his clothes. Since she had spent time with nobility, she could recognize quality when she saw it. But after months of a blatantly rough life, the fine cloth was only a ripped and torn shadow of its former self.
"My cat and I were preparing dinner, stranger. Would you care to join us?" she asked, keeping her voice like a man's despite the fact that he couldn't see her.
"I would be grateful," he nearly sobbed, stepping away from the tree and closer to her, keeping his balance on the staff. "I've been living off berries and grasses for months!"
Now that she had experience with blind people, Bearskin confidently placed his hand on her arm to help guide him around the uneven ground. "If I had known you were going to come along, I would have caught another rabbit. Oh well, we'll manage."
"I really must thank you, kind sir. It's been months since I was shown such kindness."
"To be fair, it isn't often that you run into strangers in the middle of the woods," she reminded him with a smile, although he couldn't see it.
"I wasn't in the woods back then. I was in a few towns before coming here. Say, have you seen a beautiful young woman? She's about this tall, beautiful as the stars-"
"My cat and I have just barely came to shore, sir. You're the first human I've seen in months," she cut him off, certain that he would keep talking about the girl if given the chance.
The man sighed sadly as they came back to the fire pit and she eased him comfortably against a log. "I should have known. No one's ever seen her."
"I take it you haven't been blind long, to know this girl's as beautiful as the stars," Bearskin guessed as she rescued the stew from burning.
"I'm not sure exactly how long it's been, but I know it's been months. It feels like eternity, though."
Sensing that the man needed comfort, Baron hopped onto his lap and began purring softly.
The man smiled, and set his staff aside to rub his fur. "I didn't think I'd miss having a cat on my lap this much."
"I've found it to be addictive," the trapper informed him as she used a cup to serve up soup in the two bowls she had. "Be careful, it's hot," she implored while wrapping his hand around the bowl and a spoon.
"That's perfectly fine by me," he assured her, taking a second to just inhale the delicious fumes before attempting to sip the scalding liquid.
Baron, on the other hand, refused to touch his food until Bearskin was sipping her soup from a cup like she had when they met.
She watched the man as he hungrily ate up every bit of his supper and the little that remained in the pot. "Are you still hungry, sir?"
"Much less than before, thank you. I'm afraid I didn't catch your name?" the man asked, as if suddenly remembering his manners.
"I didn't catch your name either," she responded impudently, although a part of her was hoping that he wouldn't ask that question.
"Oh, please forgive me." He bowed fluidly to her, despite the fact that he was still sitting down. "I am Juan Ricardos, son of the Grand Duke Alejandro Ricardos." Then he paused, almost flinching in the silence that followed.
"I suppose that explains your clothes. What on earth are you doing out here in the middle of the forest with no assistance?"
Juan seemed surprised that she believed him on the spot, but set the bowl aside to hold his head in agony. "A terrible mistake. I should have been more careful, or gotten her out of there. Anything."
"Her out of where?" Bearskin asked, her curiosity peaked as Baron also mewed his confusion.
"… Her name was Rapunzel. But I called her Zela, it suited her a bit more."
xxXxx
A/N; the weaving poem has a few variants, and there's a few different people that claim to have written it, so I went with the version that was familiar to me.